Newspaper 2.0 - Your Guide to RSS

Newspaper 2.0 - Your
Guide to RSS
By Kannon Yamada,
/>Edited by Justin Pot.
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Table Of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Is RSS Useful For Me?
3. How Do I Use an RSS Feed?
4. Awesome Ways to Use RSS
5. Trouble-Shooting Problems
6. Tips for Advanced RSS Users
7. Conclusion
8. Additional Reading
9. Image Credits
10. About the Author
MakeUseOf
1. Introduction
Three simple words can change your
consumption of information, forever.
How, you ask?

There’s a web technology that can find
information on almost any subject on the
Internet and spoon-feed it to you. Let’s say
that you are obsessed with Justin Bieber and
want updates on his whereabouts at all times
of the day and night. RSS makes this
fantasy a reality; with the right software and
subscriptions, you would receive every
relevant piece of information immediately
following publication, delivered to either your
mobile device or desktop.
Of course, if you are over 14, you probably
have other interests – don’t worry, this
technology can work for just about anything.
With it you can read every article offered by a
particular blog, for example. But before
explaining how RSS can help you, let’s first
get into what RSS is and its history over the
years.
1.1 A Very Brief History of RSS
The RSS initial-ism originally stood for “Rich
Site Summary” (it also was known as RDF
Site Summary), becoming rebadged as
“Really Simple Syndication” sometime in 2002
upon release of its 2.0 incarnation. The 2.0
version of RSS remains the latest and most
popular variant.
However, given the recent demise of Google
Reader, a revision of the RSS spec might

soon come to the fore. Before his untimely
passing, Aaron Swartz penned a potential 3.0
successor to RSS – while not a final draft, it
provides an interesting avenue of
development by simplifying and streamlining
RSS technology. As it stands, RSS provides
compatibility with HTML and XML, which
gives the format a great deal of
presentational flexibility at the expense of
bandwidth.
1.2 The Three Objects of RSS
The three things you need before getting
started with RSS are RSS feeds, an RSS
reader and websites using RSS feeds. Let’s
go over all three.
1.2.1 Feeds
Feeds provide the user with access to
published content on the web. Once plugged
into a reader, an RSS feed subscribes you to
that particular web content in the same way
that a newspaper subscription provides
access to news, to the extent that you receive
regular delivery of information. The
differences between RSS and a traditional
newspaper lie in the timeliness, format and
accessibility.
RSS feed subscriptions are close to
instantaneous, whereas your newspaper
arrives sometime after your paperboy wakes
up. The electronic, text-based format of a

feed also allows for it to be dissected,
searched and proliferated in ways that a
physical, wood-pulp newspaper never could.
However, it is the accessibility of feeds that
make it a true newspaper 2.0: provided you
have an Internet connection, any device can
receive updated RSS content, no matter
where you work or play.
1.2.2 Readers
Readers are the second object required for
RSS consumption. A reader specializes in
opening and turning an RSS feed into text and
images. Many kinds of readers exist, both on
mobile devices and the desktop. Some
readers operate entirely in your browser.
For example, Google’s famed, and currently
extinct, RSS Reader operated entirely in your
browser and included many advanced
features, such as cloud syncing and hotkeys.
For example, one could mark an article as
read and its status would be saved to the
cloud. If the user opened up their reader
software on another computer, the read
status of the article would persist.
Without a reader, an RSS feed would appear
as a wall of code, completely
incomprehensible to a human being.
Fortunately, a vast number of readers exist on
desktops, mobile devices and in the browser.
Skip to the third chapter for more information

on the reader software available, on all
operating systems.
1.2.3 Websites
The third core component is the websites
providing feeds. Virtually all of your favorite
sites, from obscure blogs on Justin Bieber to
popular content sites, like ESPN.com, provide
RSS feeds – you just need to know to look for
them. Even when a site doesn’t; other sites,
such as Page2RSS, can create one for you.
More on all that later.
Together, these three components – RSS
feeds, a reader and websites offering feeds –
form the core experience behind RSS.
Websites provide the content in the form of
RSS feeds and readers provide a means of
accessing this content. For more information
on the kinds of websites that support RSS,
skip to chapter 4.
1.3 Similarities Between RSS and Email
The immediate uses for RSS range from
providing a magazine-like experience, heavy
on imagery and style, to something more akin
to Reader’s Digest, an eclectic magazine
containing the best snippets of an assortment
of sites. RSS’s flexibility relates to the nature
of its design. Like email, RSS offers a core
technology, around which other inventions
revolve.
By itself, RSS feeds exists as a XML

formatted (which is like HTML) text file, which
requires another web technology to use. For
example, just as you would use email in
combination with Gmail or Yahoo, you would
use external software to properly read an
RSS feed. RSS simply offers users an
efficient means of acquiring raw information
from almost any website on the Internet. It
does so by allowing content creators to
syndicate content automatically.
Whenever an update occurs, the information
gets pushed out to the subscriber, similar to
email. This system of data proliferation allows
sites with media as diverse as podcasts,
comics, and academic journals (and more) to
publish their work once, with their subscribers
receiving automatic notice.
Prior to its advent and wide adoption, those
seeking to receive timely updates from their
favorite websites would need to obsessively
reload the page, hoping for updates. In fact,
most users still check websites daily – a
terrible waste of time! RSS automates this,
notifying you every time new content is
published on your favorite sites.
1.3.1 Open Format
RSS, like e-mail, offers users an open
format for information proliferation. However,
by itself, RSS appears as an
incomprehensible jumble of code. It doesn’t

show its true capabilities until used in
combination with software specially designed
to exploit it. When used with applications like
Feedly, RSS transforms into one of the most
potent information gathering technologies ever
created, outside the NSA’s databases.
1.3.2 What Are Your Preferences?
Like email, RSS usage depends heavily on
the user’s preferences. Picture an engineer’s
needs – she keeps updated on the latest and
greatest in materials science as well as an
engineering journal. Normally she subscribes
to these publications through the same inbox
where she receives important personal
messages. Because all these messages go
into the same email account, unfortunately,
her inbox always appears cluttered and
disorganized. Fortunately, RSS provides an
alternative.
Instead, by subscribing to her favorite
journals’ RSS feeds, the engineer need only
occasionally check her reader to receive
timely updates from a variety of sites – and
she no longer needs to worry about losing
important journal updates among piles of
chain emails.
Other individuals might prefer to get news and
entertainment for their RSS feeds – things like
Paul Krugman’s New York Times Blog or the
Belieber Fanclub. RSS is bound only by your

imagination.
1.4 What Kind of RSS Feeds Exist?
Currently nine different flavors of RSS float
about on the Internet, as well as two different
kinds of Atom 1.0, which is the competitor to
RSS. These variants do not differ in any
substantial manner from one another, though
it is worth noting that the two most popular
formats are RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0. However,
functionally no difference between the two
formats exists and most sites offer an RSS
2.0 feed. Additionally, many RSS readers can
also function as Atom readers, which
simplifies compatibility.
Overall, don’t worry about this too much: just
keep in mind that you can use Atom feeds in
place or RSS, and vice-versa.
1.4.1 RSS .91, RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, Atom
RSS has had many different versions since its
invention, but three strains today count for the
majority of RSS traffic: .91, 1.0 and 2.0. Don’t
worry if you see the older versions of RSS, as
they are all fully compatible with all readers.
On the other hand, a formidable competitor
has emerged: Atom. Fortunately, the vast
majority of RSS readers can also properly
use Atom, so for most people none of this
matters.
1.5 Summary of the Rest of the Manual:
The remainder of this manual covers RSS’s

broad and narrow applications that you, the
user, can make use of. Part two of this
manual outlines the utility of RSS to general
and special interest groups such as students,
working professionals and even slackers. The
third portion covers how to use and operate
an RSS feed within a reader. The fourth part
explains RSS’s function within nearly all your
favorite websites and how you might use it
more efficiently. The fifth chapter covers
some methods that you can use to bypass
problems in obtaining an RSS feed. The sixth
chapter deals with how advanced users can
exploit RSS to really improve their news and
information aggregating skills. The sixth
chapter touches on advanced ways of getting
the most out of your feeds. In the seventh
chapter I provide additional references and
links regarding RSS. Chapter eight covers
additional reading that might interest those
learning about RSS.
2. Is RSS Useful For Me?
So, could you benefit from RSS? Odds are,
yes. To demonstrate, I’ve outlined the many
uses people from all walks of life could find
for RSS. Let’s get started.
2.1 Utility to Working Professionals
Working professionals typically keep up-to-
date on a very narrow field of interests
pertinent to their field. The more specialized

that field, the more likely that the information
publishes infrequently and without notification.
While virtually all publications with an online
presence use email lists, oftentimes these
become burdensome and ultimately provide
little utility to a working professional.
It’s a common complaint among doctors and
lawyers that journals get accidentally removed
by spam filters or lost among the deluge of
emails hitting their inboxes. On the other
hand, using RSS can both sort and parse
journal feeds.
Ultimately, whether or not you benefit from
RSS depends on using the appropriate
methods in processing feeds.
2.1.1 The Optometrist
While a general practice doctor might
subscribe to a variety of medical publications,
the optometrist uses just a narrow selection. I
interviewed a doctor Andrew Chun on the
subject of RSS feeds and how he might
improve the efficiency with which he
consumes data.
The biggest barrier to his productivity is the
constant inbox overflow caused by the various
medical subscriptions. Another irritant is the
difficulty with which he searched through
emails for particular medical concerns.
As a dedicated mobile user, Dr. Chun prefers
receiving RSS feeds on his mobile devices, a

smartphone and tablet. Fortunately, his five
most useful websites also produce RSS
feeds, which are readable on Feedly, a
mobile and desktop RSS reader. Because
Feedly syncs across devices, Dr. Chun can
read an article on one device and it is marked
as read across all devices.
Dr. Chun’s favorite sites all have RSS feeds:
Contact Lens Spectrum
American Optometric Association
California Optometric Association
Doctors and other medical staff may also
want to check out Saikat Basu’s compilation
of highly useful medical news RSS feeds.
2.1.2 The Attorney
Josh Maupin, a member of the Kansas Bar
Association, prefers checking up on his
favorite subjects through his smartphone and
desktop computer. He mixes general interest
subjects, such as CNN and the Huffington
Post, with professional newsletters, which he
reads on an infrequent basis. Feedly, again,
provides the best solution to his requirements
as it offers integration between the desktop
and mobile environments. However, he might
also benefit from using an offline desktop
reader.
CNN
Huffington Post
Kansas Bar Association: The Kansas Bar

Association, unfortunately, doesn’t offer
an RSS feed. However, it publishes
updates through its social media pages,
such as Facebook (see section 4.1.1).
2.1.3 The Engineer
Dzuong “Bob” Nguyen works as an engineer,
creating medical devices. As an engineer, he
keeps up-to-date on the latest in technology
by daily checking up on his most useful
websites. He uses both mobile devices and
the desktop to read up on his interests.
However, Bob prefers to avoid mailing lists.
Fortunately, his top three sites all offer
detailed RSS feeds.
Design News
EE Times
IEEE Spectrum
2.2 Utility to job hunters
RSS can provide anyone seeking information
with both broadly and narrowly tailored
information — including up-to-the-minute
updates on job availability. Another fantastic
feature is its ability to keep abreast of
information on the government’s policies
toward unemployment.
2.2.1 Subscribing to Job-Finding Websites
Virtually all job-finding websites use RSS